Send me a revelation

I was listening to a song on the radio Monday at lunch… sitting in my car looking out the window… the bush beside my parents house is over run with honeysuckle vines…

The man in the song was asking to be given a revelation from God--the thoughts crossing my mind where… it’s so bright and green and beautiful and then for second my eyes refocused and I saw the dirt on the window… and so I rolled it down and there it was, even more bright with white and yellow flowers.

We compromise all the time, allowing our idea of what is good to get in the way of what God has given to us. Which is very good and devoid of dirt and scratches or any other thing that might mar it’s beauty.

October...

Wow... alright so brief summary of the weekend

Boone-riding-laughter-ladies-wisdom-fun-sleepless-food-more food-FUDGE-leaves-overlook-waterfall-love-shopping (gag)-driving-late-retreat!

Seven years ago. When the radio announcer said those words I was surprised... has it really been 7 years?

And now as I sit at exactly 9:11 on September 11th... I think about how unreal it was to see on the television screen our buildings on our soil in flames.

I cried. So many lives. A friend of mine questioned my sorrow. I hadn't lost anyone and countries all over this planet suffer every day the shear horror and terror that men and women would inflict upon each other to make a point or to take some sort of political stand.

Why do we do this to one another? Because we are lost, aimless and in search of something to fill the emptiness.

Oh wandering reader... if your eyes should find this post, know that there are those of us who think of you and pray for you.

What if they die without God....

Does it matter at all?

We have no idea what their state of heart is unless we talk to them....

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
To ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time

Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone
Brandon Heath

SL is not "inner city" like some places, but it's got some very rough neighborhoods. And the children within them are so precious--the lives they lead are so sad... heartbreaking really.

Brothers and sisters from different parents all over the place, drug using family members, parents in jail, run down houses (that look bad on the outside, and if they look bad on the outside, what must the inside look like?).

Their honesty and forerightness in telling stories from home of fighting with siblings... not the sort of a fighting I grew up being engaged in... maybe tumbling a little onto the floor, not so for many of them more like knock-down, drag-out and then:
"he peed in my shoes"
"well, why didn't you were a differen't pair of shoes"
"because I don't have any other shoes, we share, today it was my day to wear these". (6 and 8 were the ages for those two boys)
---
"she smacked my face against the wall because she thought I stole her CDs" (8 and 12 are the ages for the second set).

Very little parental input, very little support for schoolwork... no direction...

So this is FBC's mission field and some of the members of the church have been there so long they've forgotten that their little world isn't all there is... that pain and suffering surround us and sometimes we just need to take off the blinders....

So do me a favor and reread that chorus:

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

May this be your prayer, may this be your burden.... They are dying, do you care? If you said yes in your head, then what are you doing to prove it?

Dreams are strange things. I had one early this morning and at the tail end of it, I woke up remembering a boy about 4 or 5 checking out books. I had to have his name so we were talking when I discovered it was a child of someone I haven’t seen in six years or more. Last night there was nothing I thought about that would have brought him to mind so what do I do with this out of the ordinary dream; this doesn’t-make-sense-to-me-to-dream? Never having been particularly close to him or his wife who were both in the back of my mind (because they weren’t even there…), or to his brother who was also mentioned in the dream? I pray for them because that’s the only thing that makes sense. So please pray for David, Tara, their son and for David’s brother Stephen.

too much time on my hands... going stir crazy, ppl, going absolutely stir crazy! and here is the proof!

Weddings

A conversation (okay three conversations)

(Identifiers: Logan is a friend of both Tim and Cassandra, the newlyweds, Ben is Tim's brother, both were groomsmen)

Directly following the reception

Auntie Pat: Logan is a nice young man...
Me: Yes he is...
AP: You're not interested?
Me: No, no I'm not.
AP: He has a nice singing voice.
Me: Yes he does.

An hour later
Pawpaw: What's this I hear about you and Logan?
Me: Uh, nothing...
Pawpaw: He seems like a good guy.
Me: Yes, yes he does....
Pawpaw: Okay, well what about Ben he seems like a nice fellow.
Me: Yes he does and he's cute too.
Pawpaw: You're not interested...
Me: No, not really.

Two days later
Coworker and I happened to meet at a local ice cream place, he stuck around and we talked. He'd spent the afternoon with the children's librarians and a Summer Reading Program promoter... Scooter Hayes.

So we are talking about just about everything when he asks me "how old are you?" I respond "Twenty-eight" and he says "Scooter's 27 and he's single"

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I must admit I'm better now than I used to be, it used to be that if someone did that to me I would get so angry... now I just don't care... thanks guys for your very fine support :-P

If you choose to click the link please watch Makeover Lady... it's good :)

Heather v. Roach

I have a friend who writes a comic that includes roaches, as if that were a cute character. Granted he is a male and that sounds right up the alley of a male who has lived in a college dorm… ew gross!

So here I chronicle the story of Heather v. the Roaches and here you will find that in the end the winner is obvious. Disgusted, creeped-out and unrelenting I will win this fight!

The new apartment is nice, it has fairly new carpeting, new tile, a beautiful stand of trees in the backyard—I love it, except for the inhabitants of house who are unwelcome, and came before me—who probably thrived on the last tenant. The apartment has been sprayed, boraxed and roach moteled, buddy, it’s not going to take me 6 months to get rid of these nasty creatures!

While talking to my sister I spotted the first 1 inch roach and screamed, SCREAMED in her ear, she thought it was the television… go figure. I rushed to find a squashing implement only to return and discovery he’d escaped me. Fine, I’ll keep the shoe closer next time… (actually I put it back, stupid move). Thirty minutes later I was working on something and watching TV when along comes (no not a spider) but a roach about the same size as the last one, so maybe it was the same fellow. I backed out of my chair and landed on the floor all while screaming again! (praise the Lord the neighbors on either side were gone for the weekend) So I recovered and ran for shoe, when I returned he reared back and regarded me! He had the nerve to look at me and then followed me with his whole body when I moved to one side or the other… Needless to say I prayed a lot while trying to rid my apartment of this creature. And no doubt my ever-humor-filled heavenly Father looked down in love and rolled with laughter.

I won that battle (20 minutes—no lie), he had a watery grave attended only by me, the murderer.

Synopsis

Chipped a tooth
Baby was dedicated
Made bouquets
Book fair at the library
Took some pictures (big surprise!)
Made a turtle pee all over the road...
Invited over by perfect strangers to share their meal (speaking different lanaguages)
Riding in a car with my stressed out mother
Almost got in a car accident!
Trying to be less crabby and let the little things go (rise above, rise above, the world is full of big deals, the little deals shouldn't ruin your day)
Moving into a new apartment!!!

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Blessings counted:
B home safely
Wedding is almost here
It's beautiful outside
A short talk with a little old lady (full of spunk/life)
Kris
Brother got a phone (woohoo, now I can pester him!)
Morning off
I-hop!(the baby not the restaurant)
Music
Most importantly, a loving God who chooses to add us to his plans